ALEXANDRIA, Ind. —
Micah Hardy, 9, hasn’t ever known a life without horses.
“We’ve had horses my whole life,” she said, stroking her quarter horse Shasta’s head. “I love riding them, playing with them, really everything about horses.”
This is Micah’s third year in 4-H but first year in the traditional competition while her first two years was in mini 4-H. She’s participated in several different horse categories, rabbits and other projects like collections and my pet and me.
Micah’s mom Dana Hardy joked that her daughter was even on a horse before she was born as she rode while she was pregnant with the girl.
“Most of the people in this arena can remember seeing her ride with a pacifier in her mouth,” she said with a laugh, pointing to the 4-H show area. “She loves being a part of 4-H. I love seeing her out there having a good time. She’s done very well with it, and I’m very proud of her.”
Hardy said she thinks 4-H is good for kids as it teaches them not only about the project they are working but also responsibility and about competition.
“It also keeps them busy and out of trouble,” she said. “It is a fun thing for them to do, a lot of opportunities. And horses are one of the most beautiful animals.”
Micah said she definitely plans to continue to be involved in 4-H and would encourage others to do the same.
“It’s really fun,” she said. “It takes a lot of work too but if you are in it you will definitely enjoy it.”
Find Abbey Doyle on Facebook and @heraldbulletin on Twitter, or call 640-4805.
4-H Fair
Related Photos
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Micah Hardy, 9, from Pendleton and her horse Shasta wait in the shade for their next competition during the Horse and Pony Show at the 4-H Fair on Saturday. Don Knight
Discussion
Horses big part of 4-Hers life
- 4-H Fair
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Horses big part of 4-Hers life
Nine-year-old Micah Hardy, like many 4-Hers, has never known a life without horses. Her mother joked that her daughter was even on a horse before she was born as she rode while she was pregnant with the girl.
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Souped up and ready to go
It isn’t much of a spectator sport but the competitors readying their garden tractors for the decades-old pull sure do enjoy it. “It’s not that exciting to sit and watch,” joked Wayne Richards, the coordinator for this year’s Garden Tractor Pull at the Madison County 4-H Fair. “But it is a lot of fun to be a part of.
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More to 4-H than livestock
Don’t go into Exhibit Hall just to escape the sweltering heat at the Madison County 4-H Fair. 4-Hers like Tressia Phipps and Jackie Lieurance want you to go there to appreciate the hundreds of projects on display inside that air-conditioned building.
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Teen loves her pigs — and lets them go
In her fifth year of 4-H, Cheyenne Morgan is part of the Grand Champions Club. This year she won two reserve-champion ribbons, a third, two fifths and a sixth place and showed six hogs.
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Midway rides thrill fairgoers
Despite the heat and the storms, the midway at the Madison County 4-H Fair has a lot to offer for Alexandria and the rest of Madison County. Between classic fair food and new and returning rides, the fair has delivered another carnival for the entire area.
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At 4-H Fair, responsibility an age-old component
For Isaac Mohr and his brother, Cade, of Pendleton, raising and showing their animals for 4-H is about responsibility.
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Raising, showing animals is hard work
Showing animals in the Madison County 4-H Fair competitions is more than just strutting animals around an arena. There is a lot of hard work that goes into raising the animals, and then caring for and prepping them for the fair competitions.
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Frankton teen takes first attempt at 4-H competition in stride
Lexie Bousman is participating in her first Madison County 4-H Fair, and though her pet rooster, "Quail Bird," didn’t fare well with the judges, the bird was still a hit in other ways.
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Struggling to find the cool at the fair
As temperatures once again soared into the mid-90s on Monday, finding effective ways to keep animals and their humans cool became job one at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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Rising early to get rabbits ready
By the time you read this Tuesday, Emilee Hollingsworth will have been up for hours, prepping and primping, cleaning and clipping the nails of her 18 rabbits, readying them for judging at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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